I’m not surprised that a segment about how to lose fat quickly and effortlessly would be featured on Rachel Ray, given the fact she offers up recipes that will also quickly and effortlessly add significant fat to your body.

This article on the New York Times illuminates all the purported medical ways to lose inches quickly and they don’t seem to be liposuction. I did get a kick out of the pictures of the vibrating belt machines because I remember as a child in the 70s my neighbor had one and it looked like the most fun torture device ever. Needless to say it never helped her lose any weight, but, it was super-exciting to go visit.

I guess my point to all this is that if you want to lose fat, the real guaranteed way to do it would be to lift heavy weights. Probably a lot cheaper than any of these devices and results would be obvious quickly. Maybe not in 8 minutes, but surely within a few weeks.

If you are like me and have the more than occasional craving for a peanut butter cup, try this quick protein shake. Way more vitamins and minerals than a peanut butte cup, it fills you up, and also quenches your thirst. Powdered Peanut Butter is just 45 calories for 2 tablespoons, so all the taste with none of the guilt.

Tip: Use coffee instead of water if this is a pre-workout snack, and throw in any vitamins you would normally take that are dissolvable. The ultimate in multitasking!

I am mostly speechless over this dude’s blaming the end user for his cheaply made product. My favorite part of the video is when “Chip” says the pants “just don’t work for some women’s bodies,” watch his wife’s face, he definitely got a beat down when they left the studio…

The second most strenuous workout on Wii Sports, burning 5.3 kcals/min

all the way to a decent workout? An article in USA Today earlier this week says this very well may be the case. Video games have always gotten a bad rap on account of their promoting couch potato behavior, but, with this new type of “exergame” people have actually been getting off of the couch, and not just to get another bowl of chips.

So, can Wii deliver a good workout?

Not a lot of research has been conducted on the games thus far, but, a study was published in the July/August 2008 American Council on Exercise Fitness Matters. This small study had 16 people between the ages of 20-29 play on the various games in the Wii sports package for 10 minutes while their vital signs, such as heart rate, VO2 (oxygen uptake), and their perceived exertion levels were recorded.

The results showed an increase in all three variables, and thus an increase in caloric expenditure. Specifically, the participants burned between 3.1 calories (playing golf) to 7.2 calories (playing boxing) per minute. For all of the sports tested, the video game exercise burned less calories than the actual sport.

Boxing was the only Wii game tested that would be considered intense enough to maintain or improve cardiorespiratory endurance as defined by American College of Sports Medicine and the CDC. If you are wondering what the recommendations are, this linkgoes into great detail. But, generally speaking we are supposed to get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week.

I think that anything that encourages someone to get up and move is great, and if the alternative was going to be sitting around, all the better. But, there should be a healthy balance of real physical activity, taking advantage of the good weather whenever possible. I think its great that video games have progressed in this way, especially since I can remember spending countless hours playing Supar Mario on the original Nintendo NES, and though my thumbs definitely got quite a workout, nothing else on my body moved at all.

The American Council on Exercise is currently conductiong a study to assess the health benefits of using the more recent Wii Fit, as is the University of Mississippi, so stay tuned to find out those results.

Though I don’t own a Wii, I am interested to hear what others think of the exergames as compared to a real workout?

Charisse McElwaine MS, RD, CDN

I am a registered dietitian (RD) and a certified dietitian nutritionist (CDN) with a Master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition from New York University.
I’m also a self-professed food geek with a keen interest in providing the most honest and factual information about diet and nutrition that I can.
This blog features lots of my recipe “experiments.” My attempts at making healthy versions of foods that might be traditionally high in fat or calories.
I'm also a big fan of fruits and vegetables and the various health benefits than can be achieved by consuming them.
Check back frequently for the most up to date information on health and nutrition.

Ask the Nutritionist

I am always looking for inspiration, so please email me your questions and I will be happy to feature them on Fashionably Healthy.
Email me your questions at: charisse@fashionablyhealthy.com

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